Netherlands
Law enforcement in the Netherlands
One national police force under the Police Act 2012 — its structure, the Commissioner, and the dual authority under which it acts: the public prosecutor for criminal enforcement, the mayor for public order.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
The Netherlands has one national police force (the Politie), established in its current form by the Police Act 2012 (Politiewet 2012). It is headed by a single Commissioner and consists of ten Regional Units, a Central Unit, and a Police Services Centre. The Minister of Justice and Security has full ministerial accountability for the proper functioning of the police.
Before 2013 the Netherlands had 25 regional police forces and a national force; the Police Act 2012 merged them into the single national police. The force is national and unitary — there is no separate provincial or municipal police in the Netherlands.
Sources
Sources
Organisation of the Dutch police
Government of the Netherlands · Government publication · link verified 2026-07-26
Government of the Netherlands topic page, read directly. Supports: there is one national police force, headed by one Commissioner, consisting of 10 Regional Units, the Central Unit and the Police Services Centre; and that the Minister of Justice and Security has full ministerial accountability for the proper functioning of the police. The statutory basis is the Politiewet 2012 (Police Act 2012); the exact article text was not quoted because the official consolidated-legislation site wetten.overheid.nl was unreachable, and the substance is established by this government page.
Types of legal professions — Netherlands (European e-Justice Portal)
European Commission (European e-Justice Portal) · International organisation · link verified 2026-07-26
The European Commission's e-Justice portal page on the Netherlands, read directly. Supports: "The public prosecutor is in charge of investigations"; that at national level the OM is governed by the Board of Prosecutors General in The Hague; and that "political responsibility for the OM lies with the Minister for Justice", who together with the Board decides priorities for investigation and prosecution. An intergovernmental (EU) source describing the Netherlands; it establishes the prosecutor-led investigation and the OM's subordination to ministerial political responsibility.